Average Jane Throws a Party

I had the best time on Saturday night when a large group of my friends came over to play board games. It had been several years since our last game night and I really missed getting together with everyone and trying hard to kick their asses be a good hostess.

There were nine of us, so I brought up the long plastic table that usually resides in the basement unless we’re having an outdoor barbecue. I don’t have a dining room or even a kitchen table, so I always have to make do with whatever flat surface is handy.

For snacks, I made a run to Costco and bought hummus, a small wheel of brie that I baked with brown sugar and pecans, brownie bites, and mini quiches in phyllo pastry. I picked up two 1.5 liter bottles of wine (an old vine Zinfandel and a Riesling) and then stopped by a Mediterranean bakery to get pita bread. My guests brought wine and beer and the ingredients for caramel apple martinis, as well as additional snacks. I had to bring out the bottle of Tums around midnight because, well, we’re all getting old.

We started with several rounds of Scattergories as guests arrived. After that we moved on to Apples to Apples, which was so much fun that I want to buy a copy immediately. We then played a round of Cranium Pop 5, but everyone liked Apples to Apples so much that we got it back out and played again.

My guests ranged from my sister and one of her friends, to people I worked with in the 1990s, to people I’ve met in jobs and through other friends since then. My massage therapist was there, too. Five of us had worked at one particularly horrible company (not all at the same time), and still had war stories to share. Two of my friends are teachers, so they got to chat about ridiculous certification requirements.

My sister provided a giant handful of pharmaceutical company pens for
us to use in score keeping. While she was pulling promo materials out of
her car, she stealthily brought in a thermal coffee mug in a box. I
didn’t find it until she had left and I kept wondering where it had
come from until I saw what was printed on it: the logo for a drug
described as "Diazepam rectal gel." Mmm! Just what you want to see when
you’re having a nice cup of java!

Cagey was there, obviously not drinking because of NewKid on the way, and I’m sure we all got on her last nerve. Sorry, Cagey!

All in all, though, it was a blast. I think I definitely need to have game nights more often.